Break in the Flow
by Princess Lermiondriel
Summary: AU Time travel fic. 13 year old Obi-Wan Kenobi had been yanked into the future, and Anakin Skywalker and Master Kenobi were not happy about the arrangements for Skywalker's new Padawan. Things could be worse, though. Possibly. Read and review. You know the drill.
1. Chapter 1: Minor Disturbances

**Chapter ****One**

Obi-Wan Kenobi entered the small kitchenette, smiling fondly when he saw who was seated at the table. It was his master, Qui-Gon Jinn, and he was glaring straight into the dregs of tea at the base of his mug as if they had offended him somehow. Chances are, they had.

"Master, what's wrong?" the thirteen-year-old asked amusedly.

Qui-Gon snapped his gaze from the mug and gazed at Obi-Wan, blinking owlishly for a moment, before the expression was covered by one of indifference.

"Nothing, Padawan," dismissed Qui-Gon, rising from the table to place the dirty mug in the sink. "Just a disturbance, is all."

"So it is something then," said Obi-Wan, grinning.

Qui-Gon glared at him, though he was smiling. "Cheeky little brat."

"I know. But, what kind of disturbance are we dealing with? Centered around anyone in particular?"

"You probably won't believe me," sighed the master, running a hand through his hair wearily.

"Really, master?" asked Obi-Wan incredulously. "I'm your Padawan! I'd believe you if you told me the Council had assigned me a job as a herder of pink and lime green-spotted zebras!"

"Zebras?" questioned Qui-Gon. "Who or what is a zebra?"

"Nothing, master," said Obi-Wan, bowing his head.

"Delusional, Padawan," said Qui-Gon, giving Obi-Wan a playful slap atop the head.

"You're sidestepping my question, master," reminded Obi-Wan.

"Oh, all right," sighed Qui-Gon. "I don't know how, or why, exactly, but for some reason, these disturbances are centered around you."

* * *

><p>Three weeks later, it happened.<p>

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were meditating. It was a usual, normal afternoon.

Qui-Gon suddenly bolted from his spot on the floor, hand making for the lightsaber hilt at his waist. Obi-Wan stayed put on the floor.

_How does the child not sense it? It's as if a thousand howler monkeys are screaming in my ear..._

He mentally corrected himself. He had no idea what a howler monkey was, but apparently his apprentice's delusions about a faraway planet filled with wildlife that was called Earth had rubbed off onto him.

"Obi-Wan."

The boy didn't stir.

"Obi-Wan!" He yanked on the braid dangling behind his ear.

The boy's eyes slowly fluttered open, and he gazed around with a dazed, confused expression. Then his eyes snapped shut, and he was gone.

* * *

><p>Obi-Wan's eyes snapped open. He was not in his quarters, or any room familiar to him. The room was extremely reminiscent of a Jedi's, and probably did belong to a Jedi, but not one familiar to him, for that matter.<p>

The door opened.

The next thing Obi-Wan knew, he was on the floor with a knee in his gut and a deactivated lightsaber at his throat.

"Who are you?" a voice growled. He looked up and saw a blonde-haired, blue-eyed man glaring down at him. A freshly minted Knight with some anger issues to solve, by the looks of him.

The man blinked for a moment, and then he said, "Sorry, I thought you were..."

Obi-Wan nodded. "No explanation needed."

"I'm Anakin Skywalker," said the man. "Jedi Knight, as of last week." He helped the Padawan to his feet before scrutinizing him carefully, both physically and with the Force.

Obi-Wan shifted awkwardly on his feet as the electric blue eyes scanned him. Noticing his discomfort, the Knight said,

"Sorry. You just reminded me of someone. Perhaps we can get you to your Master. Who is he?"

"Master Jinn is my Master."

The Knight frowned briefly. "That's impossible, Padawan. Master Jinn was killed on Naboo nearly eleven years ago."

"How is that possible? I just spoke with him, what, ten minutes ago?"

The blonde Knight's face twisted into a pensive frown.

"That can't be, because my former Master has pretty much been grieving subtly for the past eleven years. So unless- what year is it, again?"

"That's a funny question to ask," said Obi-Wan, slightly suspicious.

"Humor me."

Obi-Wan told him the year.

"Oh, Force," said Skywalker as his eyes widened to the size of saucers. "My former Master needs to come. This is going to be fun to watch."

* * *

><p>Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was pacing his quarters uselessly when a mental transmission from his former Padawan registered in his mind.<p>

/_Master, I need you to come to my quarters. Now. There is a child... Well, a Padawan... And I think you should handle this one._/

/_Why me, Anakin?_/

/_Because this is extremely urgent and he's being rather... Difficult. A lot like you, really. So much like you it's completely unnerving._/

/_I'm going to take that as a compliment._/

He stopped pacing and left for Anakin's temporary living space.


	2. Chapter 2: The Padawan Meets the Master

Obi-Wan sat restlessly on the stool in the small kitchenette, kicking his feet, which dangled above the floor.

Anakin, on the other hand, was banging his head on the oven door. He hated being confused.

_This is so- _darn it!- _confusing! How was I to know that that kid in there- gods, that sounds weird, calling my former master a kid. I wish my life- aw, great, now I'm wishing for stuff- weren't so hectic and abnormal- no, wait, it's Obi-Wan's life- I wish this wasn't so weird!_

_Huh. Apparently when my brain can't wrap itself around a concept, I start interrupting my own thoughts. That's never happened before._

BANG. The oven hissed as the door burst open. He slammed it shut, before returning to demolishing brain cells with the durasteel surface.

"What's wrong?" asked Obi-Wan. "And please, Master Skywalker, don't tell me it's nothing. You've been attempting to give yourself a concussion for the past thirty minutes. And people don't usually do that for no reason."

The boy was extraordinarily keen.

Anakin smacked himself again, both with the oven door and with a mental slap. This _boy _was his former master. Or would be, in another twenty years.

"Well? What's wrong?"

He shivered at the voice. It sounded so much like the one he had heard for the past eleven years, but... Different. Younger.

"I'm confused," he told the bo- his master. "You have somehow traveled through time. The year here is actually-"

"Anakin, let me in."

Master Kenobi had arrived.

* * *

><p>The Master entered the apartment, wrinkling his nose briefly when he saw the clutter that completely submerged any ornaments or personal objects. Apparently, becoming a Knight had not given his former Padawan an incentive to be neater.<p>

"Anakin," he called, "Please rescue me from this ocean of trash. I'm drowning."

Anakin entered, but he was not smiling. In fact, he looked rather harassed, with his blond hair all over the place, his face flushed and red, and a lump the size of a goose's egg rising at his temple.

He shook his head to clear it- Qui-Gon had dismissed the visions of that planet as delusions long before. But the three animals he had not forgotten- zebras, blob fish, and geese.

"What happened to you?" Master Kenobi asked, smirking. "Has that child been giving you a hard time?"

"How did you know?" groaned Anakin, picking up a pillow and whacking himself in the face with it.

Master Kenobi snatched the pillow from his former apprentice's grasp and threw it to the opposite side of the room.

"Get a grip, Anakin," he chided. "At least now you know how I felt when I trained you- except I learned to handle it after a few weeks."

"No," said Anakin, calling the pillow back to his hand and burying his face in it. "I know how Master Qui-Gon felt when he trained _you_."

"Anakin, what have I told you about speaking in a way I can understand?"

"Master, go in that bedroom to the right and see for yourself," said Anakin, once again forgetting that Master Kenobi was no longer his master. "It's unnerving."

"So you have told me," said Master Kenobi, turning and walking towards the bedroom on the right. He pawed the door open, before turning to Anakin and saying, "I hope I'm not wasting my time by coming here. Please let this be worth my while."

He turned back into the room, looking at the child who was bouncing restlessly on the bed.

He blinked. It couldn't be. Could it? No. Impossible.

He blinked again, just to ascertain that his eyes weren't tricking him somehow.

The ginger-haired boy on the bed leaped up, before bowing to the master. "Hello," said the boy in a voice that was eerily familiar. "You must be Master Skywalker's former Master. I'm Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan Kenobi."


	3. Chapter 3: Yes, This is Reality

**Chapter Three**

"Anakin, tell me he's a clone. This is NOT possible! This can't be happening!"

Master Kenobi was pacing. Again.

"He can't be a clone, Obi-Wan," said Anakin thoughtfully. "I found him in my quarters some forty-five minutes ago."

"Oh, holy blobfish, we're in trouble," muttered Master Kenobi.

"Holy what?" asked Anakin curiously.

"Not important," said the Master hastily.

"You did lock him up and stick the towel under the door, right?" asked Anakin.

"Yes, I did," said Master Kenobi crossly. "Wouldn't want him knowing what we were talking about, would we?"

"Well, he'll have to find out eventually, won't he? I mean, people are going to be looking at you two- or you _one_, I guess- strangely wherever you go, and since I know you as well as I do, he's going to want to know why, right?" asked Anakin.

"That is not me. Well, not now, anyway. It's me before I shook off those ridiculous visions of that planet-"

"What planet?"

"Never mind. But I need you to understand this, Anakin: that boy in there is who I was, at thirteen years of age, but he isn't who I am now. I was much- yappier, for one thing, back then, much more naïve- and I had no idea that one day Qui-Gon would be struck down by that Sith. Chances are, he doesn't, either. So when we tell him about that- about anything, really- be wary, because you never know what could seriously damage the timeline."

"But what if he was sent for a reason? What if this were meant to change some things?"

"If the Force wills it, then it will happen," said Master Kenobi grimly.

"Will we tell the Council?"

"Yes. We need to- Master Yoda will probably be able to help us. And then there's the matter of his Padawanship- who will train him?"

"You can."

"WHAT? That's the worst idea in the history of the Jedi Order. Me, train myself? Do the words 'serious time paradox' ring a bell?"

"Why are you talking like this, Master? You didn't act like this yesterday."

"Sorry, Anakin," said Master Kenobi. "Must be his presence here. Somehow, his thoughts and my thoughts are merging- we do share a mind, after all."

Anakin shivered. This kind of talk was just too creepy and awkward for him.

"Go talk to him," he told his former Master. "I mean, it's not like you don't know each other. You know him very well, I'm not quite sure about vice versa-"

"It's fine, Anakin," said Master Kenobi. "Go inform the Council of our situation. I'llhandle things back here."


	4. Chapter 4: New Arrangements

Anakin sighed as he pushed open the door and entered the jury-like Council room. The assembled Masters gazed at him expectantly and a tad disapprovingly, and he knew why. He and the Council did not exactly see eye to eye.

"What to say, have you?" asked Yoda, scanning Anakin intensely with his green-gold eyes. "Urgent, you said it was?"

"I suppose you all felt the... Disturbance, a few hours ago?"

"We felt it," confirmed Master Windu, "But none of us knew what to make of it."

"Well, at the very instant this disturbance occurred, I happened to be entering my quarters."

"Go on," prompted Master Mundi, slightly impatient with all the suspense the junior Knight was creating.

"But when I entered my quarters, there was already someone there," said Anakin. "And I knew him very well, and he knew me... Just, not yet."

"Come on, continue," said Master Gallia, "Some of us aren't too pleased with the mystery you're shrouding around the situation."

_Well, it's the least I can do, considering all the times you've used that tactic on me, _thought Anakin, before preparing to reveal the identity of the stranger.

"Masters, I know him well because he trained me for eleven years of my life. The boy I met in my quarters was, indeed, a thirteen-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi."

* * *

><p>"Padawan."<p>

Obi-Wan looked up from his hands and towards the door. The Master who had entered his room _extremely_ briefly earlier was standing on the threshold, and seemed to be rather nervous, because he was staring directly at the Padawan, and the strong shields he had had when they had first met were failing miserably.

A curse seemed to echo through his mind, followed by the immediate strengthening of the shields. But Obi-Wan saw no reason that he would be cursing, so the small profanity must have come from the Master.

"Hello. I never caught your name, Master-"

The ginger-haired Master paled considerably.

"My name is something that might come as a shock to you. You know me, rather well, in fact-"

"But won't I hear the name from others who call you by it?" asked Obi-Wan before blushing upon realizing his blatant lack of respect for the Master.

The Master suppressed a smile. It didn't show on his face, but somehow... Even with the durasteel-strong shields placed around the bearded Master's mind, Obi-Wan knew...

"I suppose it wouldn't do anyone any good if I kept it from you. First of all, I know Anakin told you that you traveled through time. That is the truth. The year now is 978, not 956 as you thought. And I... I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi."

* * *

><p>Master Windu blinked. "Your master... From the past?"<p>

"Expect this, we did not," said Yoda, although he didn't look surprised. If you loved nine hundred years, nothing surprised you. "Unusual, this is. But not unheard of."

"Not unheard of?" asked Anakin, confused. "But wouldn't we have some record of this if it had happened before?"

"To a Jedi, it did not happen. A simple farmer, the victim was. To the future he went, but while he was there, killed he was. Destroyed, the future which he went to was."

"So you're saying that our Obi-Wan is twice as vulnerable with the visitor here," said Anakin. "And if he was killed, then I would never be trained, Darth Maul would still be alive, and the war..."

"Enough with this!" said Windu. "You said that the visitor was a Padawan, correct? Who will train him?"

"Not Master Kenobi, that's for sure," said Anakin, slightly irritated by Windu's outburst. "He said that it could cause a serious time paradox, or something like that."

"Correct, Obi-Wan is," said Yoda. "Impossible to say where the training came from, it will be, if that, we do."

"I hardly know him," said Windu.

"Not me," said Master Mundi. "I don't think any other Master will be willing to."

"Leaves only one option, that does. A Knight, Skywalker is now."

"You can't possibly be suggesting..." said Anakin, beginning to understand what Yoda was talking about, and not liking it one bit.

"If Yoda wants it to happen, it will," said Windu grimly. "You, Skywalker, will take Obi-Wan Kenobi as a Padawan."


	5. Chapter 5: The Padawan of My Padawan

Anakin gaped at them for a moment, before the dumbfounded expression was replaced by one of outrage.

"Me, take a Padawan, now? I've been a Knight for a week and a half!"

Yoda tapped his gimer stick on the floor thoughtfully. "Took you as a Padawan many days _before _his Knighting, Master Kenobi did. And gone, his Master was, and alone he was left. Understand your new Padawan, Master Obi-Wan does, and help you he can."

"Do you not think that this would create more paradoxes?" asked Anakin. "If he trained me, then I trained him to train me to train him..."

"It's the only option we have," said Master Windu grimly. "Your Master obviously can't train the boy, and none of us actually have any experience dealing with Obi-Wan Kenobi, so you would be the best one for the job. This is only temporary, anyway. If this is permanent, which I doubt it is, we would most likely send the boy to another Master whose Padawan is either indisposed- after Geonosis there are quite a few- or has graduated to Knighthood and hold you and your Master present as sources of advice."

"All right," said Anakin, looking up at them with an air of resigned acceptance, with his head held high. "I'll inform my former Master and the visitor, but I can't say they'll be too pleased to hear the news."

* * *

><p>Unsurprisingly, Anakin was correct.<p>

The reaction of his former Master (who was now technically his apprentice as well, a thought which disturbed Anakin greatly) had been one of disbelief at first. He had waited a moment for Anakin to say he was joking, but when that statement never came, he had stood there and allowed the information to sink in. Then, he put his head in his hands and muttered something about paradoxes and irresponsible Padawans, a comment of which Anakin was not sure about the target.

The younger version of his Master had been confused at first, then had started spluttering in outrage.

"What the- how did- I'm your- _what_?"

"Calm down."

The Master had laid a soothing hand on the Padawan's arm. Apparently they both experienced a feeling of discomfort at the calming gesture, for they winced simultaneously, and Anakin shuddered at the striking similarity in their expressions.

"Let's talk rationally about this now, shall we?"

The younger Obi-Wan gave his future self that quite plainly said, _I don't believe you for a moment. _He snorted.

"You? Talk _rationally_?"

"Yes, well, there are some things I excel at," said the elder Kenobi. The comment was said dryly, and would have been seen as a joke to a passing listener, but there was an undertone of seriousness to it that Anakin didn't quite understand. He'd have to ask his former Master/apprentice about it later.

"Well, isn't that a relief. I was wondering where the sarcasm went," muttered the Padawan. Anakin was amused (and albeit relieved) to hear the same witty sarcasm he always heard from Obi-Wan, just coming from a younger mouth.

Master Kenobi stood, looking over them with a set jaw and a firm, unyielding blue-grey gaze that the Padawan reflected perfectly.

"I'll give you some time to get used to your new Padawan, Anakin. And don't think I don't know what you're talking about. I will have memories of everything where your new Padawan is involved."


	6. Chapter 6: Childish Urges

Anakin cautiously approached the table where his new apprentice sat, as gingerly as if he were entering the nest of a sleeping gundark. His apprentice lifted his head from the table, looking up at him expectantly with familiar blue-grey eyes.

"I don't bite, you know," said the Padawan dryly, lifting himself off the chair.

"I could argue with that," said Anakin. "I mean, most of the time your humor is as dry as Tatooine but when you get hyped up, which I have only seen happen once by the way, you can chew off my head."

Obi-Wan's eyebrows skyrocketed. "And how long have you known your former Master?"

"I knew him for about ten years."

"Knew?" inquired Obi-Wan.

"Yes, well, now the Obi-Wan from this time would count as _my_ former Apprentice, wouldn't he?" asked Anakin.

Obi-Wan laughed a humorless chuckle. "This situation is just so odd."

"Tell me about it," Anakin groaned.

* * *

><p>Master Kenobi wanted Hershey's Chocolate.<p>

He absolutely adored the stuff, but the irrational cravings for the sugary, creamy candy from that _other _planet, Earth, had disappeared when he was twenty-one. He had known long before that that his addiction to the sweet would be unquenchable when he left Earth (minus the thirteen pounds of pure bliss stored in his closet, but those were for emergencies only), but he had just loved the line made by Milton Hershey more than any in his galaxy and so, continued to pester his master for it.

That however did not explain the sudden longing for a Hershey bar Master Kenobi was feeling at the moment.

The thoughts of sugar, cocoa, and milk leaving his mind, Master Kenobi searched his memories for anything that could possibly have been a cause of this childishness.

Ah, yes. His younger self was present.

_Chew his head off, eh? I'll show him._

_But what ever stopped a time traveler from having a bit of fun? _asked the childish voice at the back of his mind that sounded suspiciously like himself as a thirteen-year-old.

Actually, there were quite a few things in that list. But the childish conscience seemed to be making him want the question to go unanswered, so a rhetorical question it was.

He snuck into his quarters, entering his closet and turning the key on the chest of unopened chocolate.

There they were. Six bars of pure pleasure, just sitting in the chest. He snatched them up, before dashing to Anakin's quarters with a wicked grin on his face.

The more sane, Master Kenobi-ish part of his brain said, somberly, _Obi-Wan, you have been splintered. Splintered like wood._

He just grinned. He was going to see how Anakin Skywalker handled two Obi-Wan Kenobis on sugar highs...


	7. Chapter 7: A Small Spar

**Sorry about the long wait! My dad confiscated the computer then dumped a '92 PowerBook G4 on me, which took two hours to load then crashed... So all in all, not a very productive FFN week for Ler.**

**BTW, this is your Halloween update. This year I will be Princess Lermiondriel for Halloween wearing a white flowy dress, Hogwarts Gryffindor robe, and Leia's Hoth cargos! My hair will be done in either the classic Leia cinnabuns or the just-as-classic Galadriel side twists. If you wish to tell me what you will be for Halloween please do! If not, that's fine.**

**As a special Halloween bonus, I have included a Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians trivia question at the end of this chapter. Correct answerers will receive:**

**A free Darth Virtual mask for the Star Wars question**

**(o o)**

**/| |\**

**Free Scary Potter glasses for the Harry Potter question**

**~O-O~**

**Smiley Draecena for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians question**

**: )~~~~~**

**Virtual Tootsie roll for all reviewers**

**}[TOOTSIE]{**

**Now, presenting Chapter Seven... Enjoy.**

Anakin looked at his Master/Apprentice crashed out on the sleepcouch and shook his head, chuckling. This was obviously a sugar-induced sleep, as just minutes before the apartment had been a complete war zone in the sugar rushes that both of the Obi-Wans had had.

Obi-Wan- both of them- awoke with a start.

"Ugh," said the younger one, yawning and knuckling his eyes. "Wha' 'appened?"

"You were both on a massive sugar high, is what happened," Anakin replied, grinning.

"Yeah... I knew that those Hershey bars were a bad idea," said the older, Jedi Master Obi-Wan.

"Yet you did it anyway," said Anakin with a playfully accusing glare.

"Sorry," said Anakin's Padawan, shrugging.

"Forget it. Anyway, what do you say to some sparring?" asked Anakin, spreading his hands out in a welcoming gesture.

"I think _you _need to try sparring with your _Padawan_," said the elder Obi-Wan, lightly jabbing Anakin in the ribs.

"And that would be..." said Anakin, briefly forgetting before it came back to him. "Oh yeah. This is going to take some getting used to. But, all right, I'll meet you both there in... Say, five minutes. Me versus both of you."

"Done," said the Obi-Wans in perfect unison, before they glanced at each other in surprise, shrugged, and looked back at Anakin.

Anakin shuddered and headed toward the door, pawing it open and beginning his journey to the room where the most unusual sparring match would take place in five minutes.

* * *

><p>Three cerulean 'sabers ignited as a Knight, Master, and Padawan prepared to begin their sparring match, one sinking into a perfect fighting stance, the others into ones nearly as good.<p>

Then Anakin, always on the offensive, struck first, and the match commenced.

Anakin knew his Master's fighting style all too well, having fought alongside it for ten years of his life. Now, he was looking at the same style, but different, with gaps in the defense that would be exploitable by the adversary when (or if) Obi-Wan fought Darth Maul on Naboo, if Obi-Wan kept fighting like this. Because it was his duty as the Master of a Padawan (admittedly a Padawan who was also technically his Master), Anakin felt that he should at least offer the boy a few tips.

"Keep your guard up!"

"Like this?"

"Yeah... Wait, no, not that far up!"

"Okay. And then I just block you like this, and..."

Next thing Anakin knew, he was sprawled on the cushiony floor with two nearly identical lightsabers held by two nearly identical people, aimed at his throat in what would have been a death blow had this not been a practice match.

The elder Obi-Wan grinned, holding out a hand. "You really think I'd let you win when there were two of me, one of us attacking, the other defending?"

"So that was your plan the whole time?" Anakin grunted, accepting the offered hand and hauling himself up.

"Actually, no," said Anakin's new Padawan. "It was kind of impromptu, really. We made an on-the-spot strategy then built on it. Thanks, Master Skywalker and Master..." he hesitated.

"It's fine, Padawan," said the eldest with a dismissive wave of the hand. "Anakin?"

Anakin turned his gaze to the youngest in their party. "Listen, kid, I know the Council has already decreed this, but the Master needs to give his or her approval before taking a Padawan. Correct, Mas- um, I mean, Obi-Wan?"

"Yes," said the elder Kenobi. "Well, not necessarily _approval, _more like the Master's 'okay, fine' before the Council foists a Padawan on them."

"Well then, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, I hereby officially take you as my Padawan learner. You have potential you don't even know about yet. Well, you actually kinda do, seeing as that potential is sitting next to you."

**Yay! Obi is finally a real Padawan!**

**Trivia Time!**

**Star Wars Question:**

**Why did Vader want to keep Leia's capture a secret?**

**Harry Potter Question:**

**Fill in the blank: Percy wouldn't know a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing _.**

**Percy Jackson and the Olympians Question:**

**What did Percy use to drive away the human/dolphin hybrid pirates from the Argo II in _The Mark of Athena_?**

**Correct answer'ers will receive either a Darth Virtual mask, Scary Potter glasses, or a Smiley Draecena. General reviewers will receive a Virtual Tootsie Roll!**


	8. Chapter 8: Thanks for the Hint

**Hey guys! I'm back, sorry about the twelve-day-wait. I had NaNoWriMo to do and I had to nurse my recent obsession with Doctor Who. I know, pathetic excuses. But don't send Chewie after me or anything!**

**Responses:**

**ErinKenobi2893: }[TOOTSIE]{**

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**/|||\ Yes, they probably should have shown more of a reaction on Yavin IV. But then again, they didn't show much of anything at the Yavin Base.**

**Guest: }[TOOTSIE]{ CAPITAL LETTERS ARE DEFINITELY THE BEST FOR SHOWING THAT YOU EXPRESS VERY STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT A TOPIC. THEY ARE SUPER VERSATILE BECAUSE THEY CAN BE USED TO EXPRESS ANY STRONG-FELT EMOTION, UNLIKE EXCLAMATION POINTS WHICH ONLY EXPRESS EXCITEMENT!**

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**the freelance dreamer: }[TOOTSIE]{ You were also one of the people that strengthened my resolve and kept me going. Thanks.**

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**Graceful Gravity: }[TOOTSIE]{ Thank you! This entire plot bunny actually came from... You know what, I don't remember. Keep reading!**

Master Kenobi shook his head as he hung up the cloak on the wall. Sometimes his twelve-year-old self could be so immature. His antics were enough to give him a headache...

He stopped in his tracks, one hand reaching up to feel at the headache pulsating at his temple. Someone was poking at him through the Force, but he shouldn't have felt so much pain at the gesture.

He immersed himself in the Force, following the thread of energy that seemed to trail from the presence in his mind, following it until he was met with...

Himself. Of course. He was the center of a lot of things, wasn't he, now?

_Master Kenobi?_ asked his young self timidly in his mind.

_Come now, Obi-Wan, _he sent back. _You needn't be indimidated by yourself._

_My master said that when you get riled up you can bite someone's head off,_ the boy replied quietly.

_He was warning you not to get riled up, Padawan Kenobi,_ Master Kenobi explained. _You do realize that everything he says about me applies to you, right?_

_That's bizarre, _Obi-Wan said. _Anyway, I wanted to thank you for the hints you kept dropping me today._

_Hints?_ asked Master Kenobi.

_I don't think you knew you were doing it. I think the knowledge you have is somehow rubbing off onto me._

_What?_

_They were asking about the battle of Naboo. Master Kenobi, what happened there?_

_Are you sure you want to know?_ asked Master Kenobi uneasily.

_Yes, _said the boy. _If it puts me in a fair position in my studies, I must learn._

Master Kenobi smiled bitterly. That was his younger self. Studious to the last. _Very well, I will tell you._

_Ten years ago- I was twenty-five- the Trade Federation placed a blockade around the planet of Naboo. This blockade turned into an invasion, and the Queen, Queen Amidala- I'll introduce you to her later- was captured._

_We left Naboo after saving the Queen and some other shenanigans in the palace, then we boarded a ship with a faulty hyperdrive. To get supplies, we landed on Tatooine, where Qui-Gon, a handmaiden, and a pretty darned annoying Gungan named Jar Jar Binks, met a nine-year-old slave boy named Anakin Skywalker._

_Most of what happened on Tatooine is a blur to me; I know that Qui-Gon betted in a pod race-_

_Master Qui-Gon gambled? _asked Obi-Wan in disbelief.

_Yes,_ said Master Kenobi. _He ended up freeing Anakin and bringing him to Coruscant to train._

Master Kenobi could literally envision his younger self's face twisting into a look of outrage. _But you- you were still a Padawan! How could-_

_I was shunted aside for Anakin, Obi-Wan, said Master Kenobi softly. Apparently Anakin was the Chosen One-_

_The one from the prophecy? _asked Obi-Wan quietly.

_The very same, _said Master Kenobi. _Anyway, as we were leaving Tatooine, there was a mysterious warrior in black robes carrying a red lightsaber. He attacked us, and we only just escaped in time._

_When we reached Coruscant, Anakin was put before the Council. They foretold that he had a clouded future and was not to be trained. Plus, I was still a Padawan. It was not possible to have more than one._

_Then he disowned me in front of the Council. He told them I was ready, that he was ready to take Anakin as a Padawan._

_We left for Naboo again after that. When we reached, we infiltrated the palace, but that mysterious red-sabre-wielding villain was back._

_Anakin left in a star fighter and blew up the Trade Federation droid control ship. I was fighting the villain._

_He attacked us, and eventually I was trapped, helpless, behind ray shields. Qui-Gon was impaled in the stomach._

_Then, all my rage broke loose. I attacked in anger, I severed torso from legs, and dropped him in the melting pit._

_Qui-Gon was already half dead. His last words were instructions, for me to train Anakin. I was a man of my word, so I kept my promise._

A tear slipped down his cheek.

Moments later, his younger self ran into the room and collapsed, sniffling. And they fell asleep in there, two parts of one soul, literally. Obi-Wan Kenobi was safe, in the comfort of the other one who truly understood him.

Master Kenobi's last thought before falling asleep was, _Poor kid. He must be so depressed now._

**Eh, I know this chapter was rather angsty but that's how it played out in my head.**

**See that box down there? The one with the grey button that says 'Submit Review' on it? I want you to type a review in that box then click the grey button. That's it... A little further... There.**


	9. Chapter 9: Ani's Padawan

Padmé Amidala sat cross-legged on her bed with her eyes closed, imitating the familiar meditative stance which she had seen her husband take so frequently as she tried to purge her mind of the thoughts of war, politics, and the consequences of forbidden marriage.

Nothing happened. The messy jumble of worry and consternation which was her consciousness did not clear.

She relaxed, leaning back until her back touched the bed. Her only consolation was the fact that, finally, she was going to see her husband, after weeks of being apart. Sure, they had been apart longer, such as that one slightly important ten-year gap, but the last time she had seen him was at their wedding. A month ago. No honeymoon. Just a simple wedding, then Jedi missions and politics.

Her oldest and most loyal handmaiden friend, Sabé Corrin, entered the room, handing her a beautiful lilac silk dress adorned with silver feathers and a matching headdress.

"For your date," said Sabé simply. Sabé knew nothing of her marriage, just that she seemed to be 'seeing someone,' and Sabé went out of her way to make sure Padmé looked her best.

Padmé shook her head. As beautiful as the dress was, it would not do for when she saw Ani.

"He doesn't like it when I dress in those elaborate gowns," said Padmé. "'Overwhelming,' he calls them."

"Go as you are, then," said Sabé, gesturing to the simple blue long-sleeved frock which fell to her ankles.

Padmé smiled. "As you wish, Sabé."

* * *

><p>She knocked on the door to Anakin's quarters, grinning delightedly when she saw the blond head poke out of the doorway. He ushered her into his room, where they shared a long, passionate kiss before Anakin pulled away.<p>

"What's wrong, Ani?" she asked softly.

"Nothing's particularly _wrong_," said her husband. "It's just... I'm a Jedi Knight now."

"Yes," she said comprehendingly, but not quite understanding why the title had made him so distraught.

"I have a Padawan now," he continued.

"What? But you were just..." she gasped.

"Just Knighted, I know. But Obi-Wan wasn't even a Knight when he agreed to train me," said Anakin.

"So you think you can handle it," said Padmé, nodding. "When was this Padawanship decreed?"

"Yesterday morning, actually, by the Council," he said. "It's been an extremely bizarre experience."

"More bizarre than if you had chosen a Padawan yourself?" asked Padmé, half joking, half serious.

"Oh, yes," said Anakin. "Much more."

"Why is-"

He cut her off, holding a hand up. "You'll see. He'll be back in three, two-"

The door burst open and the sound of small feet entering the apartment reached Padmé's ears.

"Master!" called a young voice, about twelve or thirteen years old.

Anakin and Padmé left the bedroom, Padmé eager to meet her husband's new Padawan learner.

He was of average height for his age, maybe about five feet and a few inches. A shock of auburn hair, tied in the back and bedecked with a beaded braid trailing to the tip of his left shoulder. He had blue-grey eyes, and there was something inexplicably familiar about him which she just couldn't place...

"Hello," he said, giving a small bow. "I am-"

"She's met you before, Padawan," said Anakin.

The Padawan shot Anakin a brief 'what the heck?' look, before it cleared and he nodded, seeming to understand.

"This is Senator Amidala of Naboo," said Anakin.

"Senator?" asked the boy. Padmé groaned inwardly. Was this yet _another _Jedi who held a grudge against politicians in general?

He seemed to pick up on her thoughts and raised an eyebrow.

In that one, small gesture, everything fell into place. Impossible. Yet, correct.

"Obi-Wan?" She murmured.

Slowly, grimly, the boy nodded.

**Before I forget, here are the answers to Chapter 7's trivia:**

**Harry Potter: Percy wouldn't know a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing Dobby's tea cozy.**

**Star Wars: It might generate sympathy in the Imperial Senate.**

**Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Tremble before the horror of Diet Coke!**

**BTW, it snowed 3 inches last night. WONDERFUL. I used to live in Louisiana, now I live in a quaint Victorian neighborhood in Ohio, so every time it snows it looks like a Holiday Card. **

**We had our first snow day yesterday because the power went out at our school. So, here are your first two holiday songs, even if it didn't snow, from Ler:**

**Oh the rain will stop I'm hoping**

**Cuz our fireplace is broken**

**And since I want some cold you know**

**Let it snow let it snow let it snow**

**and...**

**Dashing through the snow**

**on a pair of broken skis**

**tripping over rocks**

**running into trees**

**I think I'm gonna crash**

**into the giant oak**

**I might not survive this**

**and death is no joke**


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